VETERINARY MEDICINE
CENTRAL FLORIDA, USA – Physicians have been using lasers to treat a variety of ailments for almost three decades, but now veterinarians are finding the application helpful in healing pets.
DR. ROGER WELTON uses a laser to treat Donovan, an 11-year-old chocolate lab, who suffers from hip dysplasia and arthritis.
Dr. Roger Welton of Maybeck Animal Hospital in Melbourne, Florida has added a laser to promote faster wound healing and offer some relief for animals suffering with arthritis or back pain.
“Photobiomodulation is the fancy word that describes how a laser is used to stimulate cells in an animal’s body,” Welton said. “Unlike a surgical laser that uses a high energy output, lasers like the one we have heal and relieve pain using a lower wattage.”
He said laser light stimulates cells to increase production of adenosine triphosphate, a molecule that helps provide energy for cellular function. The added energy seems to encourage healing.
Welton said he decided to add a laser to his practice when he heard that applying low level laser light to areas such as painful hips can provide dramatic improvements and a better quality of life for pets he treats.
DURING EACH TREATMENT, laser energy increases circulation, drawing water, oxygen, and nutrients to the damaged area. This reduces inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness and pain.
“Some pets have fallen asleep during their treatments,” he said. “The feeling is probably similar to one you would get from a professional massage or acupuncture, one of deep relaxation.”
For Welton, using the laser gives his patients a non-surgical option without sedation or restraint, a safe experience with no side effects and it can be combined with medication and other treatments.
“The results are immediate,” Welton said. “Most treated pets feel better in 12 to 24 hours after laser treatment. It speeds the healing process.”
Managing Acute and Chronic Pain
Besides using the laser to treat arthritis and back injuries, Welton also has found it to be helpful for pets in managing acute and chronic pain, reducing swelling and inflammation and to heal wounds quickly.
For Kathy McClelland of West Melbourne, the laser treatment offered by Welton at Maybeck Animal Hospital has made a remarkable difference in the life of her 11-year-old chocolate lab named Donovan.
Once healthy and active, Donovan (who was named for University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan), was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and arthritis about a year and a half ago.
“I had noticed in the spring of 2010 that there were times when I took Donovan out on his morning walk that he would do his business and would not want to go any further. He just wanted to go back home,” McClelland said. “Soon thereafter I noticed that he was having trouble getting up from a lying position, but that symptom did not present itself all the time.”
McClelland and her husband took Donovan to a home they purchased in North Carolina that summer and he kept running up and down the stairs once there.
“Toward the end of the vacation he was once again running up the stairs when his back legs collapsed under him,” McClelland said. “It took him a few minutes for him to recover which really, really concerned me. Upon returning home, I had to leave immediately to go to Miami to help move my parents into assisted living. The second night I was in Miami, my husband called and said I needed to make an appointment to take Donovan in because he could not even make it to the next house on his walk that evening.”
Welton took x-rays and ran tests on Donovan and diagnosed hip dysplasia and arthritis, but offered hope for Donovan using a non-invasive conservative approach involving laser treatments and anti-inflammatory medicine.
DURING LASER THERAPY the infrared laser light interacts with tissues at the cellular level, and metabolic activity increases within the cell, improving the transport of nutrients across the cell membrane. This initiates the increased production of cellular energy (ATP) that leads to a cascade of beneficial effects, increasing cellular function and health.
“The effect of the laser treatment was immediate,” McClelland said. ”Donovan was like his old self again. He was able to walk much further and he did not appear to have any of the discomfort that he had been experiencing.”
She said that in the beginning, Donovan went for three weeks of intensive laser treatments and now receives laser treatments every four weeks.
“My husband can actually tell when he is due for a treatment because he will start to lag behind on his evening walk,” McClelland said. “The cost of the three week treatment was around $350, which is not an insignificant amount. But the results were so spectacular, that for us, it was worth every penny.”
Monthly laser treatments run about $60 at Maybeck Animal Hospital, but not all pets suffering from arthritis or back pain require monthly treatment.
THE STAFF at Maybeck Animal Hospital includes, from left, vet tech Caitlynn Kendall, Dr. Roger Welton (DVM), vet tech Melanie Rodriguez and vet assistant Dawn Majaika.
”I would strongly urge anyone whose pets are experiencing the above symptoms or who whose pet has been given the above diagnosis to consider this treatment if at all possible,” McClelland said. ”It is not a cure, but it certainly has allowed our dog to remain relatively active and pain free or tolerably pain free. It probably goes without saying that this treatment may not work for every dog, but for Donovan it has been a godsend.”
For more information about pet laser treatment at Maybeck Animal Hospital, call 321-723-5911.
No related posts.
Recent Comments